Arsenal re-ignited their top-four bid by beating Chelsea on Saturday at the Emirates and league leaders Liverpool came from behind to beat Crystal Palace, in a thriller at Anfield.
With second-placed Manchester City travelling to bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield on Sunday, Liverpool seized the chance to tighten their grip on the title race.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were pushed hard by Palace but Salah’s predatory instincts and a woeful mistake from Eagles goalkeeper Julian Speroni ensured Liverpool improved their unbeaten home league run to 32 games.
At the Emirates Stadium, fifth-placed Arsenal closed the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to three points in the race to qualify for the Champions League with a 2-0 win.
Unai Emery’s team had lost three of their last six league games, sparking the first criticism of their Spanish manager.
But they tore into London rivals Chelsea, opening the scoring in the 14th minute.
Hector Bellerin’s cross found Alexandre Lacazette and the French striker took a touch before smashing a sublime strike past Kepa Arrizabalaga from a tight angle.
The Gunners increased their lead in the 38th minute when Laurent Koscielny mistimed his attempted header, only to see the ball bounce off his shoulder and loop into the net.
Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin was stretchered off in the second half, but spluttering Chelsea have now won only two of their last five matches.
“It was a big result. We wanted to do a special moment in this derby. Chelsea were six points ahead, so it helps us. We can be optimistic,” Emery said.
Manchester United beat Brighton 2-1 to make it seven successive wins since interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho.
Solskjaer’s sixth-placed side took the lead in the 27th minute at Old Trafford when Gaetan Bong conceded a penalty with a foul on Paul Pogba and the France midfielder stroked home the spot-kick.
Pogba’s “rocking the baby” celebration was to mark him becoming a father for the first time, with his girlfriend Maria Salaues believed to have given birth this week.
United winger Marcus Rashford marked his 150th game for the club with his side’s second goal in the 42nd minute, with Pascal Gross reducing the deficit in the 72nd minute.
Solskjaer, the first United boss to win his first six league games, said: “I can’t complain can I? I am smiling and this is one of these things I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Newcastle climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 win over Cardiff at St James’ Park that saw their opponents drop into the bottom three.
Southampton boosted their bid to avoid relegation with a 2-1 victory against Everton at St Mary’s.
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